Generally, a mobile communication system has been developed to provide a voice service while securing activity of a user. However, the mobile communication system gradually extends an area from a voice service to a data service. At present, the mobile communication system has been developed to provide a high-speed data service. However, since the current mobile communication system that is providing services suffers from a resource shortage phenomenon and does not meet a user demand for higher-speed services, there is a need for a more developed mobile communication system.
Meanwhile, unlike a voice service, a data service determines resources, and the like, which may be allocated depending on the amount of data to be transmitted and a channel condition. Therefore, in a wireless communication system, such as the mobile communication system, a scheduler performs management, such as allocating a transmission resource based on the amount of resource to be transmitted, the channel condition, the amount of data, and the like. This is similarly performed even in long term evolution (LTE) which is one of the next-generation mobile communication systems and a scheduler located in a base station manages and allocates a radio transmission resource.
With the recent development of smart devices, such as a smart phone and a tablet personal computer (PC), a processing speed and capacity of traffic have been increased, and as a result a large-capacity buffer has been used. When a small-capacity buffer is used, the number of packets that may be stored in the buffer is small. The packets that are not stored in the buffer are highly likely to be lost.
On the other hand, when the large-capacity buffer is used, the number of packets on the network is increased, and therefore waiting time for packets to be transmitted to a terminal may be increased. For example, a delay time of packets is increased, and therefore a user's quality of experience may be reduced.
For example, when the capacity of the buffer is increased beyond an appropriate level, a transmission delay time is increased and therefore the user's quality of experience may be reduced, but the processing speed and the capacity of traffic are increased and therefore a larger-capacity buffer may be required. Due to the conflicting demand, there is a need for a method and an apparatus for managing a buffer.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.